Linky list

I'm a curator. Like, I naturally collect things up into lists, piles, displays, shrines, shelves. I can't help it. It makes my life make sense to take things I find from all over the place and line them up next to other things that matter.

So here's some stuff that I think matters:

Making parks "just green enough tries to balance sustainability and equity"

"Broadly speaking, low-income and minority populations tend to have worse access to city parks than wealthy whites do. But if efforts to address that eco-disparity always lead to displacement, then park-deprived residents will find themselves in an endless pursuit of urban green space. They might also face what Wolch calls a "perverse situation" of rejecting sustainable projects for fear that gentrification will follow."

"Instead of a grand waterfront plaza dotted with high-end boutiques and LEED-certified towers, a "just green enough" strategy might emphasize small-scale community gardens or basic environmental cleanup. If a bigger project does make sense, it should at least incorporate local input and protect local culture."

A neat infographic to see where the best fall foliage colors are! (right now? not here.)

I really really want to make my own DIY Block Printed Pillows now. Like, for #DIY4Lyfe reasons, but also because look how cool they are!

This list of children's books that adults would like to read, too, makes me wish I had a non-destructive kid in my life. Because they're gorgeous, and these Monkey Monsters would shred them, and that would ruin the whole thing. Also? That shop sounds amazing and brings on the itch to create an awesome shop that I developed when I worked at one way back in St Aug.

I love all the stuff Target has by Oh, Joy! and this behind the scenes post makes me want them even more. They're just so cheerful and colorful, and we're at Target, like, literally almost every day. It's only a matter of time. And if you're into designing for retail, there's a great breakdown of all the steps it takes (which is actually the point of the article, but I get so distracted by pretty cups, always).

I love this idea for an articles club--like a book club, but you read and discuss a few articles instead. It'd be like posts like this, in person, with face-to-face discussion!

Those Aren't Fightin' Words, Dear

You see, I’d recently committed to a non-negotiable understanding with myself. I’d committed to “The End of Suffering.” I’d finally managed to exile the voices in my head that told me my personal happiness was only as good as my outward success, rooted in things that were often outside my control. I’d seen the insanity of that equation and decided to take responsibility for my own happiness. And I mean all of it.

...

 This man was hurting, yet his problem wasn’t mine to solve. In fact, I needed to get out of his way so he could solve it.

...

  The truth feels like the biggest sucker-punch of them all: it’s not a spouse or land or a job or money that brings us happiness. Those achievements, those relationships, can enhance our happiness, yes, but happiness has to start from within. Relying on any other equation can be lethal.

This article is about how to not crash and burn in a relationship, but the argument comes down to Kindness, and it has a lot to say about having a habit of kindness and how to be kind--which I think applies to everyone, whether they're in a relationship or not.

This article about How To Be Polite is so good, and I think something that the world, at least here in this country where it seems like everyone is getting mean and pushy, needs:

But no matter. What I found most appealing was the way that the practice of etiquette let you draw a protective circle around yourself and your emotions. By following the strictures in the book, you could drag yourself through a terrible situation and when it was all over, you could throw your white gloves in the dirty laundry hamper and move on with your life. I figured there was a big world out there and etiquette was going to come in handy along the way.

...

 People silently struggle from all kinds of terrible things. They suffer from depression, ambition, substance abuse, and pretension. They suffer from family tragedy, Ivy-League educations, and self-loathing. They suffer from failing marriages, physical pain, and publishing. The good thing about politeness is that you can treat these people exactly the same. And then wait to see what happens. You don’t have to have an opinion. You don’t need to make a judgment. I know that doesn’t sound like liberation, because we live and work in an opinion-based economy. But it is. Not having an opinion means not having an obligation. And not being obligated is one of the sweetest of life’s riches.

I am a huge fan of eating and drinking flowers. I was either a caterpillar in a previous life, or it goes back to sitting in hidden wild-ified gardens, surrounded by daffodylls, reading those Fairy Books when I was about eight and, apparently, really impressionable. This recipe for a Morroccan rose-based chicken bake is right up my alley.